The Alto Vicentino (Upper Vicenza province) area is strongly marked by industrial culture widely established throughout its valleys, including the large furrow of the Leogra Valley which opens onto the plain where Schio, the capital of industrial archaeology, stands; from here it winds north-west towards Pian delle Fugazze, at the foot of Mount Pasubio and snakes between the spurs of Mount Summano, Mount Novegno and the Small Dolomites, famous First World War scenarios. The valley is flanked by restful green high ground - which has favoured the growth of towns and villages - becoming characteristically dolomitic higher up, where the majestic peaks crowning the typical alpine scenery mark out the boundary between the Vicenza and Trento provinces.

Ever since the Middle Ages, the traditional forestry and pastoral agricultural economy has been accompanied by handicrafts which is documented by the close network of mills, sawmills, forges and cloth fullers which have sprung up along the course of the Leogra torrent and the Roggia Maestra (Maestra Canal), a branch of the same torrent excavated towards the second half of the thirteenth century along the boundary between Schio and Pievebelvicino.

The availability of water energy was fundamental for the industrial development which took place in the nineteenth century, in fact it was a fall of water which moved the machines by means of wheels and transmission shafts.

Similar to other geographical situations of the northern Italian foothills, the gradual displacement of the productive settlements from the mountains and hills towards the lowlands can also be seen in the Leogra Valley, where the relationship with the river has always been necessary, even if not direct, for the adoption of sources of energy such as steam and then electricity.

Schio, which is not only the centre of attraction in the valleys but also in the whole of the Alto Vicentino area, became the capital of the wool industry around the 1870s, the Manchester of Italy, the ‘civitas’ of Alessandro Rossi’s ideological concept hinged on the factory system.

Various types of prominent anthropical features remain as evidence of ancient proto-industrial activity and the more recent industrial tradition, however they are all dominated by the lofty brickwork chimneys together with the Fabbrica Alta (Tall Factory), a real ‘cathedral of labour’, a meaningful symbol of the Schio industrial phenomenon on a European level.

The exploration of this evidence means reconstructing the network of relationships and artefacts springing up from around the factories, the habits, the way of life and the ideas which generated one of the most interesting pages of industrial civilisation in the Venetian region.
This is the specific task of industrial archaeology.